Telling a story
In this lesson you will learn how to tell a short story in Chinese. You will put events in order with 先 (first), 然后 (then) and 最后 (finally), show that an action is finished with 了, and set the scene with 那时候 (at that time) and 后来 (later). With these tools you can tell a friend what happened at the market, describe a coffee ceremony in Addis Ababa, or recount a small adventure from your day.
我先喝了咖啡，然后去了市场。
wǒ xiān hē le kāfēi, ránhòu qù le shìchǎng.
መጀመሪያ ቡና ጠጣሁ፣ ከዚያ ወደ ገበያ ሄድኩ።
那时候天还没黑。
nà shíhou tiān hái méi hēi.
በዚያን ጊዜ ገና አልመሸም ነበር።
突然,我看见了一个老朋友。
tūrán, wǒ kànjiàn le yí ge lǎo péngyou.
በድንገት አንድ የቆየ ጓደኛ አየሁ።
后来我们一起喝了布纳。
hòulái wǒmen yìqǐ hē le bùnà.
በኋላ አብረን ቡና ጠጣን።
最后我很晚才回家。
zuìhòu wǒ hěn wǎn cái huí jiā.
በመጨረሻ በጣም ዘግይቼ ነው ወደ ቤት የተመለስኩት።
上个星期六,阿贝贝去市场买咖啡豆。他先到了大市场,然后慢慢地看每一家店。那时候天气很好,人也很多。突然,他听见有人叫他的名字——是他的老朋友阿尔玛兹!他们已经很久没见面了。阿尔玛兹说:「走,我请你喝布纳。」后来他们坐在一家小店里,一边喝咖啡一边聊天,聊了两个小时。阿贝贝忘了买咖啡豆,可是他一点也不后悔。最后,他笑着对阿尔玛兹说:「今天我没买到咖啡,但是我找到了一个老朋友。」
Quick recap: 先…然后…最后 build the timeline, 了 marks what is finished, and 后来 pushes the story forward. To say "have not done something for a long time", use 很久没…了: 很久没见面了 = "have not met for a long time". Remember to drop 了 after 没有.
Check your understanding
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我先喝了咖啡,然后去了市场。